Because of Beauty
by Pilgrim Grey
Summary: Why Renji became a shinigami? Why does Byakuya takes him as fukutaicho when he couldn't abide peasants? Here's my theory about it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I own Bleach, I am not writing this

A/n: First Bleach fan fiction…. Hope that this idea has never been brought out.

Renji bumped into a cloaked figure as he ran away form the angry shopkeeper laughingly. "Oops, I am sorry," he cried. Looking up, he saw that the person was very pretty. A shapely pale face framed by black hair, he looked extremely dignified and beautiful, more so among the filth of Rukongai. "You are very beautiful," Renji whispered. The man looked shocked. Renji saw a pair of shoes, shoes that only a shinigami wore. Then Renji was off running.

That night, he spoke to Rukia, his playmate and one he considered his sister. "Rukia, I want to become a shinigami and enter Sereitei," Renji spoke quietly. "Why? Are you unhappy here?" asked a bewildered Rukia. "No, but I yearn for a better life," Renji lied, not wanting to tell Rukia what he really thought. He wanted to enter Sereitei and get close to the beauty he saw this afternoon. Rukia smiled encouragingly at him and agreed.

The two children's reiatsu was strong for their age. Therefore they had no trouble getting enrolled in the shinigami academy. Being one with high talents for physical attack skill, Renji was put into another class with others like him. There, he met Kira Izuru and Hinamori Momo, trainee shinigami like him and Rukia.

Rukia's specialty was on kido spells. She was weaker in physical attacks but better in kido attacks, which basically means that they almost always drew when fighting each other. However, with the awakening of their zanpakuto, it was clear that Renji was more superior.

Renji had always dreamt about seeing the dark hair beauty again one day. What he had not known was that his wish was to be granted soon.

He ran to find Rukia to boast about yet another accomplishment. "Rukia!" he cried as he burst into the room only to find himself facing the dark hair beauty of his dreams. He was wearing the white haori of the captains and there was a large kanji saying Sixth on his back. The man did not take note of him and turn to leave. Rukia looked stricken and Renji himself was overwhelmed.

"Who is he, Rukia? What does he want?" Renji asked urgently. Rukia shook her head but answered. "He was the head of the Kuchiki clan as well as the captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13. He came to adopt me as his sister." "What?!"

Renji was overwhelmed by the new information. He could only give his congratulations to Rukia after a short while. His dream was a captain and a noble. The noble was going to take away Rukia. There was no way for him to be noticed. He was nothing but scum from the lowest of Rukongai. How could he be able to hold his head proud when he spoke to him? Pain lanced through him when he realized that he was going to lose Rukia to him too. This was yet another reason for him to get close to the noble.

Then an idea came to him, he would trained hard and try to get to a position where the noble Kuchiki Byakuya would had no choice but to notice him. From that day onwards, he trained doubly as hard. Although he remained friends with Rukia, no, Kuchiki Rukia, he slowly distanced himself from her. She was now a noble and should not mingle with scum from Rukongai like him.

Kira and Momo told him that he was thinking too much and they were sure that Rukia would love his company. But he still stayed away from her, self-doubt and fear keeping him away.

They graduated from the academy. He went to the Eleventh Division while Rukia went to the Thirteenth Division. Renji kept track of Rukia although he stayed away from her.

At the Eleventh Division, he was introduced to the love of battle as well as new acquaintances such as Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika, respectively the 3rd seat and the 5th seat. And Renji wondered will he ever get close enough to be noticed by the noble.

Then he was notified of his elevation to the position of fukutaicho of the Sixth Division. He was glad of the chance but Kuchiki taicho never gave any evidence that he was aware of his own fukutaicho.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

A/n: This chapter is in Kuchiki Byakuya's POV

Kuchiki Byakuya was born into a noble family. There was much expected of him and he accomplished much. He became the Sixth Division captain after his grandfather, Kuchiki Ginrei. Then he did something the Kuchiki clan cannot forgive. He married a peasant named Hisana.

His marriage to Hisana was one of his happiest memories in his life. However, her health was weak and she died after only five years. That was his saddest memory, watching her wasting away. After Hisana's death, he kept his emotions tightly in check and became a well known ice prince.

His physical beauty made him a target of many, but none dared to approach him due to his ice-cold demeanor. He was not perturbed, instead preferring the loneliness that he believed to be punishment for the rules he had broken in order to marry the one he loved.

Although he was the head of one of the four noble houses in Soul Society, he spent most of his spare time walking the streets of Sereitei cloaked and disguised. He wanted to find his late wife's sister and fulfill his promise that he would care for her. However, Rukongai was vast and there was thousands upon thousands of souls congregated there. Looking for a person whom he never met in Rukongai was like looking for a needle in the middle of the ocean.

One day, he was walking in Rukongai as usual when a boy with extremely red hair bumped into him while running away from a shopkeeper who looked very angry. Looking down in surprise, he saw the boy had a strong face. The boy looked up at the same time and he spoke one sentence that became engraved into the noble's mind for the next century or so. "You are beautiful," he told Kuchiki Byakuya.

Byakuya was shaken although he will never admit it. He didn't notice the boy gave a glance to his feet before running away. He did not think that he will ever see the boy again, so bad was their living conditions in Rukongai.

A few years later, he received word that the one he sought was currently enrolled in the shinigami academy. Immediately he went forth to extend to her an adoption despite the protests of the Kuchiki council members.

As he took his leave of the girl who looked so much alike with his Hisana that it pained him to look at her, he was surprised to see a shock of bright red hair running past him. He did not allowed himself to show his surprise when he recognized the boy from Rukongai. As befitted his noble status, he walked by without seeming to see the boy, Abarai Renji, as he was told later.

His interest was piqued and he asked discreetly about the red hair shinigami using the excuse of checking out his adopted sister's friend. He knew that the boy was put into the Eleventh Division after graduation and he thought that it was the end of the meeting between him and the boy.

But only a few years later, he needed a fukutaicho. His request was permitted and he was given a few choices. As he looked through the profiles of each of the shinigami, he saw their strengths and weaknesses. Suddenly a blotch of vivid red caught his eye. Curiously, and with a slight anticipation, he pulled out the sheet of paper.

Lo and behold! It was the shinigami he thought to never meet again. Abarai Renji, he was called. Flipping through the profile, he quickly decided to take him as his fukutaicho (which was extremely uncharacteristic of him, he tended to do everything seriously and perfectly).

Before long, he began to regret his decision on taking Abarai Renji as fukutaicho. His paperwork, at best was sloppy. At worst, it was almost unintelligible. Renji did not write, he _scrawled_. But he was a breath of fresh air in the stuffy division room. His excuses for lateness were almost always funny, ranging from a more reasonable forgetting to set his alarm to ridiculous ones like constipation, and Byakuya found himself nearly smiling at some of them.

However, long years of keeping his expressions in check had made him a stoic mask of calm. But the new fukutaicho always threatened to break his mask of calm with some of his more ridiculous antics.

Kuchiki Byakuya, Sixth Division taicho and head of the noble Kuchiki clan, had certainly noticed Abarai Renji, a peasant.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters

A/n: Actually I only have plot for the first two chapters. From now onwards, I am thinking as I am writing. So, it may be rubbish for all I know.

It was the day after the battle with the ryoka. Renji sat by Byakuya's bedside in the wards of the Fourth Division silently. He was at a loss for words. What should he, _could_ he, say to a man he had badly and unjustly judged?

Renji took a deep breath, bracing himself for the reprimanding he was sure would come after he had his say. He was just about to speak something when Kurosaki Ichigo popped up from the window. Trust the powerful ryoka to interrupt when he was about to say something sentimental, Renji thought, annoyed.

It turned out that the boy (indeed a boy; he was only fifteen years old for god's sake!) was looking for Rukia, Renji's surrogate sister and also Byakuya's adopted sister. However, both men had not see hide or hair of the girl all day long. Ichigo was away as soon as he heard the news and had a brief shouting match with Renji. Before leaving, he called goodbyes to the men.

Byakuya stared thoughtfully after the orange-haired boy before asking, "Is he so familiar with me that he called me Byakuya?" Renji was dumbstruck. At the same time, there was a slight burn of jealousy that Ichigo could call Kuchiki taicho as Byakuya and escape death while he would almost certainly be slashed to bits if he dared to even breathe Kuchiki taicho's given name.

Before long, Renji asked for dismissal and left the ward. His thoughts were all in turmoil by the fact that he had felt jealousy when Ichigo had called Kuchiki taicho by his given name. There was no reason he would feel jealousy towards the ryoka wasn't it? It must be enmity that had not yet worn off from the ryoka's attack on Sereitei. So Renji comforted himself.

Thus relieved, he went to bed and sank into blissful sleep. Only to be awakened by the most awful and astonishing dream about his taicho. Renji groaned loudly when he found that he was hard from the lewd images his dream had provided him.

The next day, he went to the Sixth Division office. As fukutaicho, it was his responsibility to shoulder his taicho's duties when his taicho was absent for any reason. Groaning at the large pile of paperwork adorning his and Byakuya's desk, he set to work. He was determined to earn his place instead of doing his job unwillingly as he had done before. In short, he was determined to serve his taicho as best as possible.

Buried amidst a sea of documents, he didn't notice one of the laziest shinigami in Sereitei came in. Only when abnormally big boobs appeared in front of him did he realized that Matsumoto Rangiku, fukutaicho of the Tenth Division had come a-visiting. Groaning inwardly, he dropped his pen before addressing her. "Matsumoto, what do you want? Can't you see that I am busy, as in extremely busy?" said Renji tiredly.

"Aww, come on, you are no fun at all, Abarai! Hisagi and Kira are going to come over after work for a drink. Are you or are you not coming?" Matsumoto demanded. Renji sighed. He was tempted to go but the pile of documents on his and his taicho's desk weren't going to be signed by themselves. "I don't think so. I have too much work to do," Renji sighed again. "Don't you have work to do? I don't think that I have ever seen you working."

"Of course! My taicho is a prodigy! He always finished all the work!" Matsumoto said happily. (In the Tenth Division office, a white hair boy was fuming at the disappearance of his fukutaicho, which meant that he had to finish all the work. _Again_.) Renji felt a fleeting sympathy for the young taicho of the Tenth Division, one Hitsugaya Toushiro. But before he could say anything, he felt a familiar reiatsu in the doorway.

He almost knocked over his chair in his haste to rise. "Kuchiki-taicho!" Renji snapped to attention at the sight of his wounded captain. Although whoever saw him would probably disbelieved that only two days before the man had been wounded to near death. Kuchiki Byakuya stood tall and proud, back erect despite any pain he might still feel from his many injuries. Matsumoto had also snapped to attention at Renji's cry. She might not be afraid of her own taicho, but she was certainly intimidated by the icy noble. As any person in their right mind would.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho, may I ask why you are in my division office disturbing my fukutaicho's work?" Byakuya asked coldly, his tone as frigid as winter's wind. (Maybe the wind was warmer.) "Err," Matsumoto start sweating. "You are dismissed, Matsumoto –fukutaicho," Byakuya sat down, reaching for one of the many documents on his desk. Matsumoto went meekly. She was so relieved by her narrow escape that she didn't notice her taicho until it was too late. "Matsumoto! Where have you been?" Hitsugaya was so angry that he didn't care that they were still in the Sixth Division's grounds.

In the office, two men sat quietly, signing documents after documents.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters

A/n: Don't know what I am writing anymore… Hope it isn't rubbish.

Renji wanted to ask Byakuya was it okay for him to be walking around so soon. However, years of absolute obedience sealed his lips. He could only steal glances at the beautiful noble as they worked silently but quickly.

The sun had long set by the time they finished all the work that had accumulate during their absence. "You may go, Abarai," Byakuya said coldly as Renji brought the last pile of documents to his table. Renji simply nodded and headed out of the stifling office.

Once out of the office, Renji stretched and sighed loudly. After sitting in tall, straight chairs for a whole day, his back ached and his muscles were cramped. He began to head home but stopped dead when he suddenly remembered his taicho. Cursing inwardly, he stepped into the shadows to wait for his taicho inconspicuously. He couldn't let his taicho walked home alone. After all, he was injured in his fight with Kurosaki and also Ichimaru Gin. Renji decided that he shall follow his captain home. _Just in case_.

Byakuya waited until Renji was out of the room before breathing a sigh of relieve and slumped in his chair. Which was very uncharacteristic of him. Of any noble for the matter. However, he couldn't help it this time. The pain from his many wounds nearly drove him insane. It was all he could do to not collapse in front of his subordinate. He could feel Renji reiatsu moving away. He was relieved because he was probably going to limp back home.

Byakuya decided to wait until Renji was safely back home before venturing out. To his great surprise and dismay, Renji stopped well before he got out of the division's ground and did not moved another inch homeward. (Obviously Renji had forgotten that Byakuya can sense reiatsu extremely well.)

Cursing slightly, Byakuya collected himself and set his face into the mask he wore whenever in public. Standing gracefully, he walked out with dignity befitting a noble. As he walked towards his manor (he was in too much pain to shunpo), he was once again surprised to sense Renji following him at a respectful distance. A warmth radiated through his entire body as he realized that his fukutaicho care enough for him to follow him home discreetly.

The second day was the same as the first, except there wasn't as much work. For the whole week, Renji followed his taicho home before going back to his own quarters. He thought that Byakuya didn't notice or didn't care. But he was content. For so long he had neglected his duty to protect his taicho, that he thought that this was penance for his crime. Therefore he was happy to continue what seemed to be a fruitless act.

But the truth was Byakuya _did_ notice and he _did_ care. However being who he was, he couldn't bring himself to admit that he like the thought of Renji following him to watch over him as he walked back home. Much to his frustration, Byakuya found himself walking slower since Renji start following him. There was only one consolation, Renji probably won't notice any change in his speed.

But then one night few weeks later, Renji abruptly stopped following him home. The first night Renji stop following him, Byakuya tried to convince himself that it was because Renji needed a rest too. Besides, he was too old to be threatened by anything that walked the night streets of Sereitei. However, he was disturbed when he sensed his fukutaicho's reiatsu in company with other fukutaicho and a few taicho in a drinking bar.

Three weeks later, Kuchiki Byakuya was a very unhappy man. He was worrying about his fukutaicho every night and couldn't sleep. The consequence was his work was affected and the So-Taicho was not happy with his work. And when the So-Taicho was unhappy, that meant more paperwork, which he absolutely detested despite what he says.

Besides all that, his fukutaicho, one gorgeous Abarai Renji, seemed not to want his company, always leaving as soon as he dismissed him. Byakuya was hurt by this. Is he so repulsive that even his fukutaicho did not want his company? Byakuya wondered sadly.

Today was not different than any other. Byakuya sighed, tidied up his desk before leaving. Alone, as he had done these past weeks. He made for a lonely figure walking through the quiet streets alone without company.

Although Byakuya did not act like it, he actually craved for another human's company. The problem was that he was so cold that he scared away everyone…


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

A/n: Byakuya felt that he had been abandoned but actually Renji was in a dilemma…

Renji sighed deeply as he reached for yet another sake bottle. He was surrounded by his drinking buddies in a bar. As he looked around, he saw Matsumoto drinking furiously and flirting with a bewildered Hisagi while Ikkaku and Yumichika were in a cozy corner all by themselves. Renji, Kira, Kyoraku taicho and Ukitake taicho were sitting at the bar. Finishing his bottle of sake, Renji motioned for the bartender to bring him another bottle.

However, a hand intercepted the bottle before he was able to grab it. "Renji, you have drank enough already. More and you will have a terrible hangover tomorrow," Ukitake taicho's kind voice floated into Renji's ears. He was very sober. The only reason he came to the bar was to make sure his long time friend did not drown himself in sake. But when he saw the young fukutaicho drowning in sorrow, he could not help but intervened. Ukitake taicho was a naturally kind and compassionate person.

Renji looked up blearily. "Ukitake taicho, 's alright, at least it will numb everything now," he slurred. "But your taicho will not like it," Ukitake said gently. Renji flinched and sobered up a little. He shook his head and spoke, "I think I will go home now. Thank you for your help, Ukitake taicho." Ukitake nodded at him. He looked thoughtfully after the younger man as he exited the bar. He had touched a nerve when he mentioned the Sixth Division taicho. It would seem as if Renji was harboring feelings for his captain. Ukitake frowned at the thought. Byakuya was not heartless as most thought, but he was not one to admit his feelings freely. Renji would have a difficult path in front of him if he did indeed pursue this.

The next morning, Renji woke up to a slight hangover. He groaned at the slight headache and the thought that he had to deal with paperwork _and_ his extremely cold, arrogant, _beautiful_ taicho. Renji felt grateful to Ukitake for stopping him from drinking more. Looking at his clock, he was relieved to find that he still had time for a quick shower before hurrying to work.

Knocking twice, Renji was admitted into the office by the deep voice of one Kuchiki Byakuya, most beautiful of them all and the secret crush of Renji. Byakuya spoke coldly, "Put the documents on the desk. Then you may go." Renji bowed before leaving the office quickly.

Closing the door behind him, he sighed quietly. His heart ached at the coldness of his taicho. But that was to be expected, wasn't it? Renji had been the one to break the trust between taicho and fukutaicho. He couldn't blame his taicho for being so cold towards one who had attack him.

Renji shook his head almost angrily before walking over to his desk to start work on the piles of paperwork. He didn't notice a flash of black streaked across the office window. However, he was startled when a rather loud crash came from his taicho's office. Afraid that the noble had fainted, Renji rushed into the room without bothering to knock.

"Taicho! Are you-" Renji was cut off roughly when Byakuya shouted at him. "OUT! Abarai fukutaicho! I did not give you permission to come in! Now OUT!!" Renji was about to speak when he sensed his taicho reiatsu started to spike dangerously. Hastily, he left the room.

Renji was angry. At his taicho, but mostly at himself. How could he have forgotten his taicho was sucker for etiquette? Now the noble was probably more than annoyed at him. Renji swore quietly when he realized that he was ruining his only chance to win his taicho's trust.

Groaning, Renji put down his paperwork. He could not do something as boring as paperwork when he was so furious now. He decided to go training at the Eleventh Division. It would be relaxing to train hard.

Renji grabbed Zabimaru and was out before he could regret his decision. Twenty minutes later, the training ground of Eleventh Division was almost destroyed as two captain-level shinigami fought to and fro. Although neither had released their bankai, their reiatsu were more than enough to demolish the training ground. But then, this was nothing new for a squad with Zaraki Kenpachi as taicho.

Zabimaru and Hozukimaru reflected sunlight with a bright glint (so did Ikkaku's bald head) as both fighters readied themselves for another charge. But the charge was never to be made as a cold voice rang across the training ground. "Abarai. You have played enough. Now you have to finish your paperwork. And I mean NOW!!" Renji nearly jumped out of his skin. He knew that his taicho was extremely annoyed at him now. He hung his head in shame at the thought of the piles of paperwork on his desk. He replied quietly, "I am sorry, Kuchiki taicho. It will never happen again." The noble simply turn his back and leave. Renji stared after him, surprised and dismayed at the lack of a punishment.

Ikkaku came to stand next to Renji and commented, "Well, it must be hard working under such an arrogant bastard, isn't it, Renji?" Renji didn't reply. His heart was aching again. Had his taicho thought him not worthy of a punishment?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

A/n: This chapter is something I wrote when I am not too happy with the characters. So I decided to torture them with nosy Yoruichi.

Byakuya was staring at his paperwork, something he did often, which would have scared Renji if he had known about it. He was thinking about his gorgeous fukutaicho when his thoughts were interrupted by knocking. "Come in," he called out, having already sensed the reiatsu of the object of his daydream.

"Excuse me, taicho. Here are some documents that needed your signature. Oh, and there is a taicho's meeting at three o'clock," Renji spoke respectfully. Although this was actually the behavior requested from all fukutaicho, Byakuya cannot help but cringed inwardly at the polite manner Renji treated him with. He wondered, _does Renji hate him that much_?

In retrospect, Byakuya had to admit to himself that Renji had a lot to hate him for. For starters, he had taken away Rukia from him. Then he had proceeded to prosecute his own sister as well as trying to kill his fukutaicho. Therefore, he supposed that Renji must hate even his existence. Probably he was wondering why Byakuya hadn't died from the fights with Kurosaki and Ichimaru.

Outwardly, Byakuya spoke coldly, "Put the documents on the desk. Then you may go." Renji bowed before leaving the office quickly. Byakuya could not help but gave a small sigh as the door closed behind Renji. His heart ached at the swiftness with which Renji left his office.

Pulling himself together, Byakuya begin to look through the documents newly deposited on his desk by Renji and started to sign them. He didn't notice as a black cat jumped in through his open window. Only when the cat became a woman did he realized that Shihouin Yoruichi, considered traitor of Sereitei, was sitting at his window sill, naked.

Unable to stop himself, Byakuya's feet propelled himself backward, sending his chair falling with a loud crash as he stared at the cat-woman. Then his door was flung open and his fukutaicho had rushed in. "Taicho! Are you-" Renji was cut off roughly when Byakuya shouted at him. "OUT! Abarai fukutaicho! I did not give you permission to come in! Now OUT!!" He did not want his fukutaicho to see him fluster. He did not want Renji to see that he was imperfect. He was so concerned about his image that he did not realize that his reiatsu had started to spike dangerously.

Only when his fukutaicho was out of the room was Byakuya able to calm himself. He composed himself before glaring at the female who had, by now, thrown on some clothes. "What do you want, Shihouin Yoruichi? Don't you know that I can call for guards to arrest you?" There was a slight trace of concern under the threat. Slight but unmistakable. Especially to someone who had known Byakuya since childhood. "Come on, Little Byakuya, you are being mean now. What was that with Renji though?"

Byakuya was not the slightest bit thrown by the sudden change of subject. Like Yoruichi, he was too familiar with her to fall for these kinds of tricks. "None of your business, Demon Cat," he spat with venom that most would be surprised to hear coming from the ice prince's mouth.

Yoruichi only grinned wider at the insult. "Uh huh, Little Byakuya had found someone to love again, haven't you?" she teased. Byakuya felt his face grew strangely flushed as he protest that he and Renji were co-workers, stressing on the word _co-workers_. After having fun teasing Byakuya, Yoruichi became serious. "Byakuya, you should try to find someone. Hisana would not be happy seeing you like this," she said. Byakuya just looked at her calmly. "Look, you obviously like your fukutaicho, don't you?" Yoruichi looked closely for any reactions. She knew full well the noble would not answer such a question. A slight flush proved her victorious. "So, ask him out!" She concluded happily.

Byakuya suppressed a groan and fight against an urge to let his head fall forwards upon his arms. Instead he glared and spoke coldly, "Fine. You have your say. Now if it pleases you, leave me alone to work!" Yoruichi nodded but say gravely, "You must grab at a chance with both hands lest it slipped from your grasp, Byakuya." Then she was gone in a flash. Not for nothing was she called the Flash Master.

Byakuya had to take a few deep breaths before he could calm himself enough to search for his fukutaicho's reiatsu. To his dismay, he found it heightened as if he was fighting or training hard at the Eleventh Division.

Byakuya used shunpo and was there in seconds. He could see two fighters in the middle of the almost demolished training ground facing off each other. He grew jealous of the 3rd seat when he saw Renji was actually enjoying himself in the company of the bald man. Unable to restrain himself, he called out, "Abarai. You have played enough. Now you have to finish your paperwork. And I mean NOW!!" He could see the younger shinigami was startled and he felt a moment of guilt for spoiling his fun.

But when the redhead hung his head and apologized, Byakuya suddenly found himself suffocating. It was all he could to walk away, not to mention even speaking. He distinctly heard the 3rd seat say something about him which sounded like 'arrogant bastard' and suddenly found out that he was hurt by the thought that Renji also thought of him like that.

A few shunpo later, Byakuya reached his manor. He went straight into his room and closed his door firmly, indicating to his butler that he wanted no disturbance. And inside the privacy of his room, he was able to let slip his tight control of his emotions. There he lay until he dozed off, sleeping fitfully all day long. By the time he woke up, it was already a new morning…


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

A/n: I completely forgot about the meeting which Byakuya was supposed to go to! Well, I shall have to compensate it by having Byakuya do more paperwork. Oh, Ikkaku and Kira are going to be appearing in this chapter too.

Renji walked into his office early the next morning only to find it empty. He was surprised as well as a bit concerned. Byakuya was never one to be late. Could it be he was unwell? Renji wondered.

He was interrupted from his musing when a messenger came into the room. "Is Kuchiki taicho here?" he asked politely. After all, Renji _was_ a fukutaicho. "He isn't in yet. Can I take a message?" Renji replied. "Hai, Abarai fukutaicho. The So-Taicho would like to know why Kuchiki taicho was absent from the captain's meeting yesterday. He requested a report from Kuchiki taicho."

After the messenger left, Renji decided to try to search for his taicho reiatsu. Although he really sucked at these kinds of things, he still felt as though he needed to do this. Renji was surprised when he felt his taicho's reiatsu moving towards the Sixth Division at a very high speed. Seconds later, Kuchiki Byakuya walked in the door in his full regalia. He did not acknowledge his fukutaicho as he walked past. Though Renji did not saw it, there was a slight blush on his face.

Renji sighed before getting up. He had to pass on a message that will most certainly made Byakuya want to kill the messenger. Knocking twice, he was once again admitted into the office. "Taicho, I have a message from the So-Taicho for you. He asked why aren't you at the meeting yesterday as well as requesting on a report on that," Renji said politely.

Byakuya's eyes widened a fraction as he took in the message. Renji was slightly surprised that Byakuya _could_ be surprised. "You may go, Abarai fukutaicho," Byakuya spoke coldly as usual. Bowing, Renji left quickly as always.

Working fast, Renji made his way through his own pile of paperwork with many a curse and grimaced. It was mid-afternoon by the time he finished the paperwork. Stretching, he decided to go and train for a while. Grinning to himself, he went in search of Ikkaku and Kira.

Once again, the training grounds of the Eleventh Division were almost fully destroyed. The onlookers could only gape at the strength of the three shinigami. After a training session, they decided to go for a drink. Not booze, they are still working, but juice.

"Hey, Renji. What is eating you?" Ikkaku asked after giving their orders. Kira did not say anything but looked expectantly at Renji. "What are you talking about, Baldy?" Renji was taken aback. He hadn't known that he was so obvious. "Oh come on, we all could see that you are unusually tense, okay?" Ikkaku scoffed at Renji's surprise. At the moment, their order arrived and Renji was spared an immediate reply.

But he was not to be let off the hook as Ikkaku made it clear after the waiter left. "So, what is it? Spit it out!" Renji chewed on the end of his straw as he contemplated the question. "Ikkaku, I don't know how to say this. But," Renji drew a deep breath, "I think I am in love."

Kira, who had just taken a sip, choked as Ikkaku spat out what he was drinking all over the table. "WHAAATT?!!" They asked in unison. Renji was slightly disconcerted by the reactions of his friends. "Err, I am in love?" he said uncertainly. "Yes, yes. Who is it?" Kira asked impatiently. Renji blushed a deep red that rivaled his hair when he heard Kira's question. "Kira! How can you ask me that?!" he cried, "Right, Ikkaku?" Renji turned to his other friend, imploring him to agree with him.

However, curiosity can certainly kill a cat. Ikkaku turned his back on Renji and sided with Kira. It had been many years since he heard Renji proclaiming himself to be in love. Naturally, he was extremely curious as to who had caught Renji's eye.

Renji mentally scolded himself for telling this to his nosy friends. He avoided their questions as skillfully as he could but they weren't letting him escape. And so the game continued for another half an hour until Kira suddenly exclaimed, "Omigod! It is so late already! I have to go back or risked being buried by paperwork!" Looking up, Renji was shocked to see that it was almost five. His taicho would almost certainly be livid with his slacking.

Hasty goodbyes were exchanged as the trio spilt up in an attempt to hurry back to their respective divisions. Renji was almost at the Sixth Division when he found his way blocked by a familiar black cat.

"Yoruichi-san! What are you doing here?" Renji asked in a low voice. The cat looked at him before speaking in a deep, male voice. "Renji, I am sure that you care for your taicho, don't you?" Mystified, Renji nodded. "Very well. I will tell you a secret," the cat smirked. (Did cat smirk? I supposed not. But then this is Shihouin Yoruichi, friend of the impossible Urahara Kisuke.) A bit apprehensive, Renji leaned down to listen more clearly. "Actually, Little Byakuya always craved for a party at his manor. Only he was too proud to ask for it. If you would ask for permission to hold a party in his manor, I am sure he would be more than happy to agree." Having said this, the cat was gone in a flash.

Deep in thought, Renji walked slowly back to his office. To his surprise, there were no furious messages asking where he was. Instead, the reiatsu of his taicho in the inner office was slightly subdued, if Renji read the signs right. He wondered was it because of the party Yoruichi mentioned earlier. Before he could stop himself, he was already knocking on the door…


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

A/n: Byakuya was late…I don't know what prompted me to make him late…I must be insane…

Byakuya woke up to sunlight streaming into his eyes, dazzling him. Looking at his clock, he nearly gave a scream of horror. He, the impeccable noble, was late for the first time in his life. Quickly, he rushed into the bathroom to wash. He was fully dressed within five minutes, breaking his record. Glancing at the clock again, he groaned silently as he saw the hands pointing to a quarter past eight.

Deciding to shunpo towards his office, Byakuya was out of the manor before the servants could wish him 'good morning'. Halfway to his office, he felt the warm reiatsu of his fukutaicho caressing him. He very nearly smiled when he realized that Renji was probably searching for him, concerned at his lateness.

Within seconds, he was standing in front of his office. Taking a moment to compose himself, Byakuya walked into the room. Although he saw Renji standing respectfully, he did not acknowledge him as he felt quite embarrassed. Instead, he quickly entered his office and closed the door. For a moment, Byakuya slumped against the door, his heart beating fast from meeting his fukutaicho who, for once, was earlier than him.

Then he stood upright and walked to his desk. Mounds of the darn paperwork were, as usual, piled on his desk. Sighing, Byakuya picked up his pen and started to write. He had barely finished the first form when the accursed door was knocked. As was the custom, he gave permission for entrance. In came the redhead with bad news.

When Byakuya was reminded of the meeting yesterday, he would have liked very much to jump off a high building. Never before had he forgot a single meeting! It was irresponsible and unacceptable for one as him. Although he felt like banging his head on his desk, all Renji saw was a slight widening of his eyes. At the mention of more paperwork, Byakuya was ready to call it a day no matter it was only midmorning.

He dismissed the fukutaicho although he would have been happy enough keeping Renji beside him while he work. But it would probably be far more distracting than anything. Byakuya sighed regretfully when he sensed his fukutaicho settling in the outer room.

Deciding the paperwork won't do it themselves, Byakuya set to work with a very slight grimace. Absently, he reached for his tea when he realized the Renji had forgotten about it. Groaning inwardly, he decided to forgo tea for once, a decision he regretted afterwards.

By mid-afternoon, he was in such a foul mood that he was quite ready to unleash Senbonzakura at anyone incurring his wrath however slight it may be. Therefore, it was understandable when he narrowed his eyes in annoyance at a black cat that had just leaped in through the window. It was of his opinion that the Demon Cat did not bring anything but bad news.

"What do you want?" he growled, for once too tired to put up his noble's mask. Besides, they have known each other for a long time. Yoruichi grinned and said teasingly, "Ooh, Little Byakuya is in a bad mood!" "If you have something to say, speak and then get lost before I made you!" Byakuya almost howled.

Yoruichi was taken aback by his outburst. Byakuya had not been so outspoken since his coming of age. Then she smirked. Oh, she knew just the thing to make Little Byakuya pay attention! "Oh alright then. I don't think that you will be interested in something about Renji," as she spoke, she made to walk away, sure that Byakuya would take the bait.

Sure enough, Byakuya spoke hastily, "Just say it!" Yoruichi paused, and then spoke, "I just overheard Renji talking to his friends. It seems that he wanted to hold a party for New Year but was afraid to ask his aloof taicho. And now that I had had my say, I will be on my way before you call Senbonzakura." Then she was gone, leaving Byakuya behind to ponder her words.

Was he as aloof as Yoruichi had said? Byakuya wondered. Is Renji so afraid of him that he hesitates to ask for a party? As he was musing about these, he was startled by a knocking. "Come in," he said. In came the very redhead who was the subject of his musings. "Erm, taicho, eh, I wanted to ask," here Renji paused, taking a deep breath before finishing, "Can we have a New Year party at your manor?" And he waited with bated breath for his taicho's respond.

Byakuya said nothing for a minute. He was a bit surprised that Renji had asked to use his manor. He had thought the redhead would ask to use division grounds. But if it would make his fukutaicho happy, he was willing to do it. So he nodded. He could see Renji's face lit up when he agreed to the party and was glad.

After Renji excused himself, Byakuya sat staring at his paperwork unseeingly. He had never been one for parties and such. How could he have agreed to the party? And, more importantly, why did he agree to have the party in his manor? He let his head dropped into his hands and groaned quietly. He must be going mad.

Deciding that he had done enough work (which, by the way, was a first time too), Byakuya put his stationery away and was out of the office in a flash, leaving a stupidly gaping Renji behind.

In his manor, Byakuya sat in his favorite garden with a pot of tea. Dismissing his servants, he thought back to Renji. He thought it was evident that whatever Renji felt for him could not be love, or even something similar. He had treated him too badly in the past. While he wanted to love and be loved, he thought that he, Kuchiki Byakuya, ought to be content with what Renji would give. But lord! It was hard! It had been a long time since he wished for something so fervently. And then it was something he could never have.

Coming to this conclusion, Byakuya could not withhold a low cry of distress. Nor could he stop his heart aching. Unbeknownst to him, a black cat watched from the wall. Its yellow eyes were full of sympathy and understanding as it watched him…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

A/n: Sorry for the long delay.

Renji walked out of his taicho's room feeling relieved and glad that he was still alive. Even though it was Shihouin Yoruichi, long time friend of Kuchiki Byakuya, who had assured him that it was true that his taicho wanted a party, but still, it IS the Ice Prince.

But that did not matter now. He had a party to plan. Sitting down in his office, he decided to at least clear two piles of paperwork before he started to plan the party. However, it had not even been half an hour when he felt his taicho's reiatsu leaving the office. Is the taicho leaving early? Renji wondered. He did hope that Byakuya was not unwell.

Worried and concerned, Renji made the mistake of involving Matsumoto into the committee for the party. As expected, the first thing the woman does was to broadcast the fact that the Ice Prince of Sereitei is holding a New Year Party in his own manor. This resulted in Renji being swamped by requests to be included as guests to the party.

Looking at the messy pile of letters on his desk, Renji groaned out loud. After all his taicho was not in the office. Sighing, Renji started to sort through the letters to draw up a guest list. He does not feel that Byakuya would take to it kindly if hordes of shinigami ran through his manor even if he had given permission to hold a party.

Renji quickly decided that he would invite all of the taicho of the other Divisions as well as their fukutaicho. Then he stopped, unable to continue since he did not actually know who and which House that Kuchiki Byakuya socializes with.

Rukia picked that exact moment to waltz in looking very smug. "Does somebody need my help?" she asked in a sing-song voice. Renji looked up….and practically grabbed her, dragging her to where the list he had made lie.

"Rukia, bless you! Who am I suppose to invite to the party? Who does your brother socialize with? Or, more importantly, who shouldn't I invite?" Renji asked frantically all the while pulling on the girl's hand. The bemused girl just went along and waited for her friend to stop his antics.

But before Renji could stop of his own accord, a cold voice cut in. "Abarai-fukutaicho, release my sister now." Startled, Renji dropped the delicate hand that he was holding and whirled around to see the one he thought had left. "Kuchiki-taicho!" he gasped. The cold noble was standing behind him, looking calm and collected to the untrained observers. But Renji knew better than the others that Byakuya was extremely annoyed right now. After years of being fukutaicho to the Ice Prince, Renji was able to read the expressions on the noble's face.

Byakuya do not acknowledge Renji's salutation instead heading towards his office. Rukia looked after her brother and turned to Renji with a smug smile. "Renji, you do realize that you only needed to go in ask him what guests does he want to invite, do you?"

Renji only groaned and put his head on his arms. He had made the taicho angry _again_! Twice in a same day too. He must be breaking all records. Now his taicho probably thinks that he was someone who was unable to follow protocol. He groaned again. Rukia was right. He needed to go and ask for the noble's opinion on the party. Deciding there is no time like the present, Renji stood and knocked before going into his taicho's office.

Inside, he saw something unfamiliar. Piles upon piles of paperwork were decorating the desk. Renji stared. His taicho was usually so efficient that the paperwork were never more than an inch thick. He was startled out of his thoughts by a frigid voice. "Abarai-fukutaicho, what do you want?"

Rudely reminded of his mission, Renji asked with a slight tremble. "Kuchiki-taicho, I needed your opinion on the New Year Party you will be holding on your manor. I needed to know which guests needed to be invited and which to be avoided." Byakuya replied coldly, "I will provide you with a list who will needed to be avoided. Otherwise, you can make all the decisions."

Renji quickly thank the taicho and went out of the room, relieved to be still in one piece. He began to finally work on his own piles of paperwork. He was soon so deeply engrossed in the reports that he was startled when a messenger tried to hand him a list he had asked for.

"Ah, thank you." With the list of people needed to avoid in his hand, Renji went back to planning the guest list. Before he knew it, it was night and he can go back home. Before the battle, Renji would probably be the first to race home. However, his guilt had prevented him from leaving earlier than his taicho. Now, he found that he enjoyed his work enough to want to finish them before the new pile started.

He finished his paperwork, then brought the guest list home intending to finish it before morning. He worked the whole night, his lone light burning bright in the dark of nighttime Sereitei.

The next day, Renji showed up for work with bloodshot eyes. Everyone sneaked a second glance at him. Renji was extremely annoyed and wished that everyone would stop staring.

However when his taicho did not even look at him, Renji felt a pang in his heart. This had just confirmed what he had suspected since the unfortunate encounter with the ryoka. His trust with his taicho was forever broken and now Byakuya hated him with all his heart. Needless to say, Renji's heart shattered.

It was a very subdue Renji who brought the guest list to Byakuya. "Kuchiki-taicho, this is the list of guests for the party. Please look through it and I will gladly make any changes you required."

"Alright. You may go, Abarai-fukutaicho," replied Byakuya without even glancing upwards from his paperwork. Renji left the office quietly…


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: First off, I am very, very, very sorry that I left this story for so long. I don't know if this story are still being read or not, but I wish to apologize for those who had waited in vain for so long. Anyway, on with the story.

Byakuya watched as a subdued Renji placed a list of guests' names on the desk in front of him. He frowned slightly as he could not understand why the usually exuberant man was so quiet today. 'Maybe he does not want to be near you, you a beast who let his sister be executed and tried to kill his fukutaicho who tried to save her,' his mind whispered maliciously. Is that true? He wondered. It must be, for how else can he explain this changed Renji?

"You may go," he spoke with his customary coldness. It would not do to spook him now. It hurt more than he expected to think that Renji hated him. But he would not let his selfishness blinded him to his fukutaicho's needs. As he heard the door closed with a quiet click, Byakuya put his brush down with a visible effort to let go. His fingers were stiff and cramped and there were cracks on the brush where he had gripped too tightly.

Trembling fingers took hold of the piece of paper. His injuries had not yet completely healed and stoic idiot he was, he had decided to stop the pain medication. Byakuya read through the list and was pleasantly surprised when he realized that Renji had followed protocol and invited members from the other Noble Houses. It would not do to exclude them for the first party Kuchiki House threw for more than a hundred years.

All of the taicho had been invited, ditto for the fukutaicho. However, there was no mention of Renji's friends who were seated officers, such as Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika and Hanatarou Yamada. Byakuya scowled. It seems as though Renji was trying to shield his friends from his own taicho. Byakuya felt an unexpected indignation rose in him. Did Renji really think that he was such a threat? But of course, his mind mocked him. Which fukutaicho would trust his taicho after said taicho attacked him and left him for dead? Certainly not Renji.

Feeling suddenly petulant, Byakuya reached for his brush and add the names of Renji's friends to the list. Renji might not want him near his friends, but Byakuya wanted to know more about Renji and that was what he was going to do. He firmly shut up the tiny voice in his head that said that he was doing so for the sake of Renji enjoying himself in the party. Putting it aside to dry, he put the party out of his mind and focused on work.

Reaching for one of those endless paperwork, Byakuya set to work with his usual efficiency. For a while, he felt almost normal, working on routine things that he did before the whole Aizen fiasco. He was comfortable and secure until a hell butterfly came to summon him to a taicho's meeting.

"Kuchiki- taicho, as had been discussed in the previous meeting, we are severely short of taicho. As such, it would be better if we are able to fill in the empty positions as soon as possible." The So-taicho spoke with his usual growl. "As of now, there are two bankai-wielders in Seireitei who are not taicho. Madarame Ikakku of the Eleventh and Abarai Renji of the Sixth. Kenpachi-taicho and Kuchiki-taicho, please ask if your respective squad members will be willing to fill in the positions of captains."

Two hours and a headache later, Byakuya stepped out of the meeting hall with a heavy heart. The so-taicho had agreed to a one month deadline. Which means that it will be just one week after the New Year Party when Renji will leave the Sixth Squad to take his position as taicho of another squad. He did not doubt for a moment Renji will take the promotion as was due his rights. Zaraki was a lucky man; Madarame would not take the promotion for anything. The whole Seireitei knew that he swore to follow Zaraki to his death.

In another uncharacteristic gesture, Byakuya closed his eyes in despair. At least they had some time left yet. He will enjoy (or try to) his time with Renji. Not that Renji will like that, but it will only be a short while before he will leave for his own squad.

Finishing up what was left of the paperwork, Byakuya decided to go home early for the second time in a week. He will talk to Renji after the party. After all, Renji would not need that long to make up his mind and he does not want the looming separation to hang between them for a whole month.


End file.
